GCU Contributes Digital Book to World Digital Library (WDL)

GCU Contributes Digital Book to World Digital Library (WDL)

GCU contributes digital book to World Digital Library (WDL)

The Government College University (GCU) library on Saturday contributed the first ever digital book from Pakistan to the electronic catalog of the World Digital Library (WDL), a cooperative project of the Library of Congress and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The university shared with the world an historical book titled “The History of the Afghans” published in English in 1829. The book is the first history of the Afghan people translated from a non-Western language to appear in a European language. The original work was composed in Persian in 1609-11 by Neamet Ullah in the court of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Neamet Ullah based his work on material compiled by Hybet Khan, an attendant of the Afghan General Khan Jahan Lodi. The translation is by German Philologist Bernhard Dorn (1805-81).

GCU Chief Librarian Abdul Waheed said the WDL was an online library which was in multilingual format and had significant primary materials from the countries and cultures around the world including manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, photographs, architectural drawings and other significant materials.

The GCU now stands with the institutes like Library of Congress, Yale University Library and Brown University Library which have shared material on Central and South Asia through the platform of World Digital Library, he added.

“Only 37 libraries of the World have yet succeeded to add its digital book to World Digital Library electronic catalogue, as its criteria is very tough,” the chief librarian added.